'The Audition' plays tonight at the Roxy in Potsdam
Call it “American Idol” for nerds.
“The Audition,” a documentary about the arduous audition-by-elimination contest aspiring opera singers go through to get into the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, is playing at the Roxy Theatre in Potsdam at 7:15 p.m. tonight.
Watch the preview here.
I’m more than a little excited. Confession: I’m a longtime choir singer and opera lover.
The documentary takes you behind the scenes of the Met’s annual National Council Auditions, where thousands of singers compete for cash prizes, the opportunity to sing on one of opera’s most storied stages — and, ultimately, a chance at classical music fame.
Renee Fleming, who has been the prima donna superstar of opera for the past decade, hosts the film. As you may recall, Ms. Fleming studied at the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam.
People around town here will tell you they remember the days when the aspiring soprano sang solos at the Christian Science Church on Elm Street and performed with jazz bands at local bars.
I wonder if she could have foreseen years ago that she would end up on the movie screen here too.
Her big break came when she won the Met opera auditions documented in “The Audition” in 1988 at the age of 29. Here she is singing the commensurate favorite, “O Mio Babbino Caro,” by Gianni Schicci.
Roxy and the Crane School have partnered this year to bring Metropolitan productions to the silver screen, for a steal. Twelve bucks (or less if you buy ‘season tickets’) gets you one of the best seats in the house.
The surround-sound main theater screens live performances from New York City via satellite, where cameras zoom around the stage so you can see the singers better than you could from the front row normally. There’s a summer line-up of encore showings of live performances taped earlier this year, all playing Monday nights at 7:15 p.m.
—Alexandra Jacobs
